A special Angel Tree will be travelling around the community starting this weekend to help people to help Santa make this Christmas a little brighter for children and teens in need.
And all of the angels who help Santa with fulfilling a Christmas wish for a boy or girl will receive a gift in return — a handmade ornament to honour their generosity.
School District 27 students in the GROW, Skyline and Transitions programs have made the ornaments for the Angel Tree with donations and assistance from a variety of local businesses and community organizations.
The ornaments are truly unique with some being created from paint brushes to look like jolly elves and others made from wood rounds to resemble snowmen. Each ornament has the year 2015 marked on it as a reminder of the donor’s generosity.
People choose an ornament from the Angel Tree, and use the attached tag to purchase their gift. Each tag will have the age of a boy or girl in need along with their wish for a Christmas gift.
The tag is then attached to the gift which is delivered unwrapped to the destination on the tag. This will be either the Salvation Army located at 272 Borland Street, or at Canadian Tire.
“No names are provided, as that is Santa’s secret, but the angel will know, when they see the hand-crafted ornament that sparkles just right or twirls in the light, that they are experiencing the satisfaction in fulfilling a child’s secret Santa wish,” says Laura Masini Pieralli, a new teacher in the district, who initiated the Angel Tree project with help from Potato House Society president Mary Forbes.
For the next few weeks the Angel Tree will be on the move, travelling to various special events around the community.
People will find it at the Potato House booth at the Medieval Market this Saturday and Sunday at the Lake City Secondary Williams Lake campus; at the Earth Friendly holiday craft event at the Central Cariboo Arts and Culture Centre Nov. 27 and 28; at the Winter Lights Festival and Santa Parade Dec. 4, 5, and 6; and at Canadian Tire starting Dec. 7.
“In exchange for donating the requested item, each ornament on the tree is a gift for the Angel to keep to bring home for their tree, or to wrap up to share the sentiment with that hard-to-buy-for-person on their list,” Masini Pieralli says.
The toys and gifts will be distributed to Williams Lake and area children and teens in need by the Salvation Army on Dec. 18.